Rail-joint.



J. W. CLARK, JR. RAIL JOINT.

APPLICATION FILED numl, 1911.

1,005,414, PatentedOct. 10, 1911.

1 UNITED STATES PAT NT OFFICE.

JOHN W. CLARK, JR, 0F PROVO, UTAH.

BAIL-JOINT.

T 0 all whom it may conc ern:

Be it known that I, JOHN W. CLARK, Jr., a citizen of the United States, residing at Provo, in the county of Utah and State of Utah, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Rail-Joints; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, and to the figures and letters of reference marked thereon.

This invention relates to rail joints for railway rails, one object being to provide a strong and durable joint which will effectually overcome a difficulty in track maintenance known as high joint or high rail.

Another object of the invention is to dispense with the necessity of employing fish plates or splice bars, and to afiord an increased area or bearing surface on the tie at the meeting ends of the rails.

Referring to the accompanying drawings,Figure 1 is a top plan view of the meeting ends of a pair of rails, embodying the present improvements; Fig. 2 is a side elevation looking at the inner side of the rail; and Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the end of the rail shown on the right hand side of Figs. 1 and 2.

Like letters of reference in the several figures indicate the same parts.

In carrying the present invention into practice, the ends of the rails A are preferably formed with transverse enlargements B, B on the outer side, and the web of the rail is thickened or enlarged to make a substantially solid structure from the head to the bottom flange of the rail, as shown at C, in Figs. 1 and 2.

Each of the meeting ends of the adjacent rails is formed with a tongue or projection tapering from its base to the point or end, which tapering projections have their cooperating faces arranged in vertical planes so that either rail may be removed or replaced without disturbing the other. In assembling the rails or laying the track, said tapering projections are arranged side by side transversely and form what may be termed a scarf joint. They are held in position by a supplemental tongue or projection preferably lying on the outer side of the rail and adapted to enter a corresponding Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed January 31, 1911.

Patented Oct. 10, 1911.

Serial No. 605,729.

seat in the cooperating rail end to form interlocking projections.

Referring to Fig. 1, it will be seen that the right hand rail is provided with a tapering projection D on the inner side of the rail, while the left hand rail is provided with a tapering projection D, said projections both having squared ends (Z, and each seats in a corresponding recess in the other rail. The tapering of the projections is secured by arranging the meeting faces of the projections at an angle to the longitudinal axis of the rail, while the outer faces of the projections are substantially parallel with the longitudinal axis of the rail. Said projections are together substantially equal to the width of the head or tread surface of the rail, and each is beveled at the extremity, as shown at d, in order to avoid as far as possible any liability of the ends being turned up, so as to form a shoulder against whifih the wheels of the rolling stock may stri e.

On the outer side of the projection D the left hand rail end is provided with a vertical channel or recess having an enlarged inner portion E which is preferably rectangular in cross section, and the opposite rail is provided with a tongue or projection F adapted to enter the recess or channel and having at its end an enlargement F which seats in the chamber E. In order to allow for expansion and contraction, the head F is made of less area longitudinally of the rail than the area of the chamber E, thereby providing a space which will permit a slight relative longitudinal movement of the two rail ends, but will effectually lock the said ends together against any material relative movement such as might be caused by the rolling stock in producing the efiect known as creeping.

The flange H of the rail preferably extends along on both sides of the rail and around the enlargements B, B so as to afford a ready means whereby the rail ends may be spiked down to the tie, the spikes being applied in any desired position, for instance, as indicated in Fig. 1 by the reference letters I.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is:

1. In a rail joint, the combination with the abutting ends of adjacent rails each embodying a tapering projection forming a scarf joint, one of said rail ends on the outer side of the scarf joint having a channel therein terminating at its inner end in an enlarged chamber, and the other of said rails having a tongue or projection With a head thereon seating in said channel and chamber for limiting the relative longitudinal movement of the rails.

2. In a rail joint, the combination With the abutting ends of adjacent rails having 0verlapping projections thereon, the outer faces of said projections being parallel With the longitudinal axis of the rails and the proxiand having an enlarged end forming a hooklike head, and the other of said rail ends having a channel and chamber for the reception of said hook-like projection whereby the relative longitudinal movement of the rails Will be limited.

' JOHN W. CLARK, JR. l/Vitnesses:

THOMAS DURANT, ALEXANDER S. STEUART.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, I). C. 

